 And what I want to talk about today is this tree right here, this is a juniper tree. This tree is a volunteer, I didn't plant it, it just came up on its own. When I was weed eating out here one day I noticed that it was growing here, so I decided to leave it, let it grow, that was years ago and now it has grown into a large tree. The juniper grows these berries here, you can see the berries, these are juniper berries and juniper berries are an excellent herbal medicine. It is a urinary tract disinfectant, it is a diuretic increases urine flow and it also helps kill the harmful bacteria in the intestinal tract and juniper berries is an ingredient in a lot of herbal formulas for urinary tract infections. This is one tablespoon of fresh juniper berries, here is something that all herbalists need, it is called a mortar and a pestle. One tablespoon is considered one dosage, it is enough to make one cup of juniper berry tea, you crush the berries, then you put the berries, add one cup of boiling water to one tablespoon of crushed berries, you let it steep for 20 minutes and if you are using this to treat kidney problems you do this twice a day. Juniper berries come from juniper tree which is in the family of cypress, they are also called gin berries, juniper berries are used to flavor gin and juniper berries assist urine flow and help clean the kidneys bladder and prostate of toxic waste while at the same time helping to fight off urinary infections. Juniper berries are diuretic which means they stimulate the kidneys and bladder to get rid of retained and excess water and juniper berries also have an antiseptic effect which means they kill the harmful bacteria in the kidneys and bladder. Juniper was also used as a survival food among Indians and it is also being used to stimulate childbirth and to stimulate menstruation so it is not recommended for pregnant women because they found out that pregnant mice could cause miscarriage in pregnant mice so pregnant women should avoid juniper berries. So I am going to add one cup of boiling water to one tablespoon of crushed juniper berries and I am going to cover this with a saucer and allow this to steep for 20 minutes. Now these are fresh berries, if you want to store juniper berries to use later in the year what I would do is I would put these in the sun and dry them out as best as I could and then when the berries are not in season you can use the dried berries to make your tea. Now the usual dosage is two cups of tea a day like this for urinary bladder problems, urinary bladder infections. I let that steep for 20 minutes and then drink the juniper berry tea. Now I am using the fresh berries so I used a heaping tablespoon of berries. If you use the dried berries the berries do shrivel up, shrink some when they are dried so if you use the dried berries I would just use say a level tablespoon of berries. For a larger person you can use slightly more, for a smaller person you can use slightly less. Dosage is typically about a hundred and fifty pound person, if you weigh 300 pounds you might actually double the dosage, if you weigh less than a hundred and fifty pounds or if it is a child you can use less than the recommended dosage. Okay that has been steeping for 20 minutes. Juniper berry tea tastes a lot like a Christmas tree. Now like many herbs, juniper works better when it is combined with other herbs that have a synergistic effect. Synergism means that when you combine herbs that have similar effects the combined effects is greater than the individual effects added together. There is some synergism involved with mixing herbs and juniper is usually mixed with other herbs. One common herb that is often mixed with is parsley and parsley is an herb that is easy to come by so you can use parsley when you make your juniper tea. The famous herbalist Dr. John Christopher made a herbal combination with juniper and parsley and he also put in a dongkwai which is a Chinese herb and golden seal, either ursi, ginger, marshmallow along with the juniper berry and parsley and that was a good formula that was originally made for male prostate problems but it was also used for women's urinary tract infections as well and it was used for to restore weak and sexual function and also for scanty or difficult urination or for water retention and for bladder infections. It's actually a very pleasant tasting tea, juniper berries, diuretic, promotes urine flow, antiseptic, it helps kill the harmful bacteria in the urinary tract that may be causing kidney or bladder infections. It's also a digestive aid, it's a survival food, good for prostate problems, juniper, this is survival doc reminding you be prepared or be prepared to be fleeced.